Turntable



Oct.A 6, 1925 CLAYTON TURNTABLE Filed Jan. 23, 1925 G. E. CLAYTON TURNTABLE Filed Jan. 23, 1925 2 sn'e'ets-sheeyz 4.5 4 :l5 115 l I I K 5,6/ .5.5. 64 l lwwfar i Q'eorye E @ily/fon Patented Get. 6, 1925.

vUNITED STATES GEORGE E. CLAYTON, Or COMPTON, CALIEOnNIA.v

TURNTABLE.

Application led January 23, 1925. Serial No. 4,197.

" To all 'whom t may concern.'

useful Improvements Be it known that I, GEORGE E. CLAYTON, a citizen ofl the United States, residing at Compton, in the county of VLos Angeles and State of California, have invented new and in Turntables, of which the following is a specification.

riihis invention relates to turntables and more particularly to those adapted to use in garages or assembling plants where traffic is i" congested, or in small private garages where the interior is somewhatrestricted.

The object of this invention is to provide a turntable which requires no internal power for operation, but may be operated by power from the automobile which it is carrying, is free from construction-dangerous to the public and may be controlled by the person managing the automobile being carried, thus rendering it adaptable to use in private garages where turning facilities are inadequate. t.

A further object is to provide in conjunction with a turntable of the character described a theft prevention locking device.

ln the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view Y of the turntable assembly with a portion of the top cut away to expose the operating parts.

Figure 2 is a side elevation in section taken on the line 2-2of Figure 1, and shows an automobile in place upon the turntable.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section taken `on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, and illustrates In detall, a side wall of a garage is indicated by 8, thev front by 9 andthe garage fioor by 10.

At adepth sufficient to accommodate the turntable hereinafter described is a'sunken base 11, composedof concrete or othery durable material, which `is surrounded by. a supporting wall"12 formed with a circular interior and an octagonal exterior, which shape is employed for the purposel of` strength and economy. This wall provides a housing for the turntable and asupport for the floor of the garage which' is notL a part of the movingmechanism.

Centrally mounted on Vthe base 11 is a ball roller, or other suitable bearing assembly 13, which in turn rotatablyv supports a carriage 14, covered bya top 15 made of any suitable material, such as sheet iron or wood 'flooring` and is'built upon the same plane as the garage floor 10, it being disc shape and of such size as to workably rotate within a circular cut 16 in the floor 10.

The carriage 14 comprises a rectangular frame 16, having end pieces 17 and intermediate braces 18, 19 and 20. Corresponding in length to the end pieces 17 are four side pieces 21 joined to the frame and a cross piece 22, in such a manner as to make of the whole a heXagon.

At each angle of the hexagonal carriage is substantially mounted a wheel or dolly 24 adapted to roll on the base 11.

A geared track 25 is firmly laid upon the base 11, and describes a semi-circular arc concentric with the kbearing 13.

Adapted to engage the geared track is a large gear 26, mounted upon a shaft 27, which revolves in bearings constructed on the end piece 17 and the brace 18, the shaft being provided at its inner end with a beveled pinion 28, which is driven by a gear 29. The gear 29 is rigidly mounted upon a shaft 30, which is parallel to end piece 17 and is supported by bearings constructed on the side members 16 as indicated at 32.

Within the frame members 16 and separated approximately a distance the. breadth of an automobile, are a pairof wide rollers 31 mounted rigidly upon the shaft 30, formed with concave surfaces for the purpose of providing a track for the vehicle wheels to run in.

A second `roller assembly `33' is mounted'in similar fashion parallelto and on thel same plane as the first roller assembly,they being so separated that the wheels of an automobile will come to rest between the aligning rollers, and that .when the wheels yof the automobile are set in motion,they will have a frictional engagement with the rollers and transmit the power to the driving gears in the turntable.

Each of the shafts 30 has mounted upon it a sprocket wheel 35, over which runs an endless chain 36, this being intended to coinpel uniformity in the revolving of the shafts 30, to transmit power from the inner rollers, which would otherwise run idle, and to provide a rigid traction surface when the vehicle is propelled forward.

A ratchet 37 is rigidly fastened to the shaft 30 in the roller assembly 33, and a pawl 38 pivotally mounted on the brace 19 drags on the ratchet when the carriage is moving in the prescribed direction of travel, but is intended to engage the ratchet and inhibit movement of the carriage when the carriage may be actuated in the right hand, or wrong direction.

The top of the turntableis cut away to expose the rollers, and a block indicated at 41, the purpose of which will subsequently appear.

A block 4l is securely fastened to the base 11', and is intended to oller resistance to a bar 42, which is fashioned in the shape` of a crude S and is pivotally anchored at 43, the lower end being normally at rest. against the block .4l when the turntable is not in motion, thus making it impossible to move the turntable in a. left hand direction.

The opposing action of the pawl 38 and the resistance block 41 combine to effect a lock against unauthorized movement of the carriage in either direction.

An automatic trip release is comprised of the bar 42 and a trip hinge 44 whose upper leaf 45 lies slightly elevated from the floor l5 and is adapted to be depressed by the front wheel of the vehicle which has mounted the turntable, the depression of the leaf 45') actuating by contact with the upper end of rod 42 the lower end of said rod causing it to be raised free oft-he `block 41 and permitting movement of the turntable carriage. A theft prevention device illustrated in Figure 7 comprises a block 55 formed with a recess 64 and normally resting upon the base 11 in the path of the bar 42 as it rotates with the carriage 14. Normally the block will offer no obstruction to the passage of the bar 42. A horizontal bracket 56 is substantially secured to the block and is bent to form a vertical arm 57 having a slot 58 and a handle 59. The arm 57 is disposed parallel and adjacent to a post GO which extends vertically through a recess 5; formed in the base 11 and projects above the floor 10. This post is provided with a sfaple 61 adapted to be accommodated by the slot 58 and secured by an ordinary padlock 63 when the arm 57 carrying the` block 55 is elevated to a position which will cause the recess 64 in the block 55 to receive the bar 42.

As a protection when the turntable is in motion there is provided a vertical bar 47, which is adapted to slide through an opening 48 in the top of the turntable and t-he frame brace 1S, and when at its upper elevatio-n to provide a stop for the .front axle of the automobile.

The necessity for this becomes apparent when it is considered that only one direction of rotation of the automobile wheels will properly more the turntable and that an inadvertent mistake in causing the automobile eears to be iniproperly meshed might result in an accident were the stop 47 not employed.

A bar 4T is pivoted as at 49 to entend in a horizontal direction and is pivotally hung to the cross piece 22 at 5 bar 5l which describes an arc concentric with the bearing i3 has its ends imbedded, in or otherwise substantially secured to the base 1l and is curved from thence abruptly to its elevation and carried on an even plane a majority of its length, the purpose being to force the bar stop 47 upward when the turntable is set in motion. The turntable is provided with a duplicate driving mechanism, one at each end of the carriage frame, but as they operate similarly and only one is in use at one time, a detailed description of the lsecond assembly is not necessary.

rlhe operation of the turntable is as follows: The automobile is propelled forward into the garage and onto the turntable, the automobile being stopped when the rear wheels are resting on the roller assembly 33, at which time the left front wheel of the automobile will have depressed the automatic trip release hinge 45, throwing the bar 42 clear of the `block 4l, and permitting movement of the turntable to the left. The automobile gears are thrown into reverse, the clutch in contact. as in actual driving. Thereupon the rear wheels will frictionally engage the rollers 33, the power being transmitted through shafts 30'and 30 and chain 36 on sprockets 35, thence through gear 29 to bevel gear 28, thereby rotating shaft 27 and large gear 26 which enn'ieshes with cog track 25, thereby causing the turntable to revolve to the left a half turn, and bringing the automobile into position facing the door of the garage. As the carriage rotates the stop 47 is elevated by the contacting with the curved portion 5ln of the bar 51, thereby providing a safety stop against which the front axle 52 of the automobile may abut. lf the carriage is stopped before the half turn is completed, pawl 38 engaging the ratchet 37 will pre vent the swinging of the carriage in a reverse direction. lhen the turntable is rotated one half revolution the bar 47 carrying the stop 47 drops off the end of the bar 51,.permitting egress of the automobile. In

case the rear wheels of the vehicle are maintamed in reverse motion beyond that necessary to turn the carriage, the large gear 26 p will roll slightly beyond the end of the cog track 25 and allow the rollersto idle without effect. The pawl 38 automatically prevents reverse rotation ofthe rollers, so that the wheels of the automobile may secure traction for forward motion.

For preventing theft, the owner of an automobile may operate the turntable -a quarter turn and leave it in that position during his absence, thereby pre-venting the car from being rolled out since the turntable is locked against movement except that directed by power from the automobile. Or the bar 42 may be released by application of a mans Weight and the turntable oarriage rotated vby hand a quarter turn, the block elevated to cause the recess 64 to receive the bar 42 by'grippin the handle 59 thus raising the arm 57 anc the'bracket 56, slipping the slot 58 over the staple 6l and securing it in that position by the pad# lock 63, thereby locking the turntable against movement even should an intruder succeed in starting the automobile.

A modified arrangement of the roller assembly as illustrated in Figure 6 contemplates a belt 55 Working on each pair of rollers thus providing a smoother operating surface for the automobile wheels and obviating the necessity for the sprockets and chains.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the details of the construction without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A turntable comprising a base, a carriage rotatably mounted on said base, and means for operating said turntable by motion of the driving wheels of a vehicle being carried, and a safety stop comprising a bar riding upon an incline adapted to interfere with improper movement of the vehicle.

2. A turntable comprising a base, a carriage rotatably mounted on said base, and means for operating said turntable by motion of the driving wheels of a vehicle being carried, and a safety stop comprising a bar riding upon an incline adapted to interfere with improper movement of the vehicle, and means for locking said bar against movement at a given point in the rotation of the turntable.

3. In a turntable comprising a' base, a carriage rotatably mounted on said base, and means for rotating said carriage by power froma vehicle being carried thereon, a locking device comprising a bar carried by said turntable, a block having a recess adapted to receive -said bar and means for rigidly securing said block in an engaged position with said bar and with said base.

4. In a turntable comprising a base, a carriage rotatably mounted on said base and means for rotating said carriage by power transmitted from a vehicle being carried thereon, means for locking said turntable against movement comprising a bar carried on said turntable, a block having a recess adapted to receive said bar in positive engagement, said block being normally free of said bar, and means for establishing a locked relation between said block and said base comprising abracket secured to said block and a vertical arm having a slot to accommodate a projection, a post rigidly se cured to the'base and provided with a projection adapted to engage said slot.

5. A turntable comprising a base, a carriage rotatable on said base, and a semicircular cog track mounted on said base, diametrically'opposed spur gears engaging said semi-circular cog track and mounted on shafts rotatable in bearings secured to the underside of said carriage, oppositely disposed pair of rollers mounted on shafts adjacent said spur gears, sprockets carried by the shafts of said pairs of rollers, chains engaging said sprocket, either of said pairs of rollers adapted to be successively engaged by the rear Wheels of a motor vehicle and transmit rotary motion to said carriage when the rear wheels of the motor vehicle are rotated backward and pawl and ratchets to prevent said pairs of rollers from rotating in the opposite direction.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE E. CLAYTON. 

